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Biography

 

Steven Hull (b. 1967) received both his BFA and MFA from California Institute of the Arts, the latter in 1997. Formally, Hull explores the various ways that painting, sound and sculpture interact, and even overlap, where a flat image can appear to be dimensional, and a sculptural piece can feel image-based.  Hull has a distinc­tive and characteristic visual style - angular figures, bold, graphic lines and marks in black, contrasted with vivid, sometimes shocking color, and recurring imagery; the circus, ships, and skeletons for instance; combined with found objects and readymade and hand made assemblage sculptures. Speaking about Hull's drawings, Los Angeles Times art critic Christopher Knight notes "..stylistically they recall German precedents, from Max Beckmann and Otto Dix in the 1920s to Neo-Expressionists in the 1980s. Their subjects are similarly erotic, scatological and forlorn. Eager desire merges with dark desolation"

 

Hull is established as an engaged and multi-faceted artistic and curatorial practitioner. His diverse interests and methods have led him to undertake a varied range of projects, which at times have included long-term collaborative efforts with other artists, musicians, and writers resulting in ambitious traveling shows and exhibition catalogues. Hull has organized nu­merous publications and exhibitions including Blind Date (1998), a catalogue of 31 artists and writers’ collaborations; I’m Still In Love With You (1998-99), an album and catalogue in which visual artists and writers respond to the 1972 album by Al Green; Song Poems (2000-01), a catalogue with three CDs of 43 original lyrics, songs and album art contributed by numerous writers, artists and musicians; and Nothing Moments (2007), a publishing and curatorial project consisting of 24 limited edition books and over 400 original drawings. Hull was the co-founder of the artist-run space La Cienegas Projects that ran from 2009-2011 and presented over sixty artist projects.

 

In 2013, Hull participated in Glow, Santa Monica's one night interactive art festival contributing a major light and sound installation for the event. In 2014, Hull was invited by actor and comedian Jack Black to create the visual enviroment for the second edition of Tenacious D's Festival Supreme, a music and comedy festival in Los Angeles.  Hull created an "art theme park" featuring installations, sculptures and performances by himself and others such as Jim Shaw and Marnie Weber. In 2017, Hull's large scale mural was unveilled in the city of La Jolla near San Diego, as part of the public art project Murals of La Jolla. Hull lives and works in Los Angeles.